


Poems and Silhouettes

by Cloud (CloudFlower)



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Cute, Fluff, M/M, Neighbors, One Shot, POV Third Person, Poetry, Poetry Month, Short, alternative universe, blackout poetry, ereri, excessive use of the fuck word
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-25
Updated: 2016-04-25
Packaged: 2018-06-04 08:42:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6650776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudFlower/pseuds/Cloud
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren has decided to support National Poetry Month by doing some black-out poetry  and taping them to his door. </p><p>Levi is just confused as to what the actual fuck is going on with his neighbor's door.</p><p> </p><p>Basically this is a one-shot where I shamelessly promote poetry through Eren promoting poetry because April is National Poetry Month!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Poems and Silhouettes

It wasn’t that Levi was unobservant, quite the opposite actually. He saw almost everything. He just didn’t give a fuck about 90% of the shit he saw, 99% of the time. So it wasn’t that he didn’t notice the strange drawings or whatever they were that started appearing on his neighbor’s door, he just didn’t really care. If he was being completely honest he didn’t care about the guy that lived there either. All he knew was that he had brown hair, average height, and was presumably of the male gender. Levi had only ever seen his back, usually accompanied by the furious jingle of keys and a low grunt of frustration or two as he struggled to open the door to his own damn apartment, feet scuffling inside and the door quickly shutting when he finally did get the lock open.

As the month went on, the collection on the door grew and Levi became accustomed to the little black and white drawings. It’s not like it was Levi’s fault that he walked past that door every time he came into the apartment complex as well as every time he left, so it was only natural that he noticed his neighbor had been continuously adding to his collection and now a very large portion of the black door was neatly cluttered with small cut outs. It was also only natural that he turned his head ever so slightly each time he walked past to catch a glimpse of the ones that at some point or another had become his favorites among the gallery. There was the dog that stood guard, front legs splayed to the side, back slightly angled downward ready to pounce at the detection of the slightest movement from whatever it was staring at; the girl in sunglasses, holding her head up to glare at the world in front of her, absolutely fearless; and the lighthouse, waves crashing all around and birds circling every which way. Levi really liked the couple too. Even though a heart encompassed the scene and it was a little tacky, something about the way their legs intertwined under the table, about how their heads were tilted and pointed towards each other, the partners both very relaxed and both unmistakably male. It made Levi kind of content in a strange way. Like he was proud that this random neighbor he had never talked to was bold enough to post his drawings on his own front door to show the world. Even despite the very real chance that some old grouch at the other end of the hallway with nothing better to do might come charging at him like a fucking storm and tear that flimsy piece of paper off the damn door and rip it to shreds. And then after destroying his work of art, the bastard would have to nerve to preach to the poor kid about the sins of the homosexuals.

 

Well at least Levi could enjoy the view while it lasted.

 

But walking past the frenzied black door one evening, something made Levi stop. All the pictures were still there, as a matter of fact, there were more added to the black entrance, just like every other day, but perhaps for the first time, Levi noticed that a few of them weren’t pictures. It was just a small number, but they looked like unintentional walls of ink. No silhouetted figures. Just blocky streaks of marker. It almost appeared that the artist had messed up, didn’t have any whiteout, and in their frustration had simply colored in everything resulting in one huge rectangle of blackness. Others were worse. Scribbled. As if a child had attacked the page with crayon…or a black sharpie he supposed. Levi wasn’t really sure what it was supposed to mean, but he didn’t get it. At some point his feet had moved on their own and now carried him forward until he stood in front of the door, peering down at the closest scribble of black.

He found himself squatting to bring the offending article to eye level. After a few seconds his eyes quickly latched onto what he couldn’t see before. The paper…or…was that newspaper? The font… a word from a subheading… the blank spots that were more yellow than they were white all confirmed his suspicion. There were small globs of emptiness around certain words, blemishes in the midst of all the black. Or perhaps he had it wrong all along and the black was really empty and it was the white spaces that had held the art all this time… but it didn’t make any sense. The yellowed out spaces had bits of words here, a whole phrase there, a few chunks towards the bottom.

He tried stringing the words together, but they didn’t fit. They were nothing more than disjointed thoughts that made no grammatical sense when you tried to shove them all together. Something about McDonalds and new menu options.

Levi definitely liked the drawings better. But why would someone go out of their way to draw on newspaper? Unless… His eyes shot to the drawing of the couple.

Yeah. They were there too. Tidbits of sentences here and there that had been neatly boxed in black ink to stand out. There were only a few but they were definitely there and now that he was up close, he could see the way they jumped from one side of the heart to the other, but at least this one made more sense when you read left to right, top to bottom.

 

_Sitting out                                                                                           on        the       Deck._

_At a     comfortable                                                                            table_

_Just them_

_Time                                                                                           eliminated_

_They were   Lovers._

 

It was a cute little story he supposed, but Levi wasn’t sure if he felt pleased or… disappointed. Like maybe the kid felt like his art couldn’t convey the stories or feelings he wanted them to, so he surrounded them with words. But then how would he be able to find these words perfectly in order like that unless he wrote the words first and then drew based on the story he saw in his mind from the words. That made much more sense, but it didn’t explain how all these words could match up this perfectly. It seemed to be the complete opposite of what happened in the scribble about McDonalds. Was that why that one had no picture? Because it didn’t make sense? Then why post it on your freaking door?

Levi’s thoughts were interrupted by a sharp click that was much too close to be anyone else’s door— He barely had time to stand up before the door flew open and-

 

“Sweet mother _Fuck_!”

 

The yell was accompanied by the sound of the door crashing against the wall, as it swung completely open from the sheer force of his neighbor jerking it back. The kid’s swearing registered somewhere in the back of Levi’s mind as he tried to get over his own shock. His neighbor had jumped backwards and was clutching a hand to his heart, breathing rather heavily.

 

Naturally Levi recovered first and he tried to think of how one might act when put into this kind of situation. This was their first face-to-face meeting, as far as Levi could recall, and he had never really pictured it happening like this. Actually, he hadn’t picturing _any_ kind of meeting happening. At all. With any of his neighbors. Ever. Maybe a few unavoidable nods in the hallway to show his acknowledgment of some person’s existence to avoid his neighbors all thinking he was a complete sociopath, but that was about it.

           

It’d be a bit harder to get out of this though. Something was telling Levi that he should say something and that a simple nod and turn of the heel wouldn’t work. Especially since this whole situation was probably his fault considering it’d be a little hard to accuse his neighbor of trying to leave his own apartment.

 

Forcing himself to stand there and deal with the mess he had gotten himself into, Levi couldn’t help shifting his eyes to take in the room that opened up, quite literally, in front of him and the boy it belonged to. He really was just that. A boy. He had a surprisingly young face, younger than Levi might have guessed from the black slacks and button downs he always saw the boy wearing, sometimes with an open suit jacket. Yet, there was something so palpably _young_ about him. Maybe it was the way his hair branched out a certain points, ruining any attempt the boy had made to groom it. Or perhaps it was the way his eyes seemed like they still held a child’s curiosity despite the years of education he had obtained, given the clothes he was wearing and the apartment complex he was living in. They were blue or green, Levi couldn’t really tell, but he could definitely say that the kid’s tan skin made his bright eyes pop even more.

 

There was something else too. About his eyes. They were curious, but confident. Bold. Definitely the eyes of a guy who'd spend a few hours drawing the silhouettes of a gay couple in various shades of black marker and then have the gall to post it on the door to his fucking apartment for everyone to see, like he was challenging all the little shits in the world to go ahead and say a single damn thing about it.

 

Levi sure as hell wasn’t going to.

 

He kind of liked that look too. That bold confidence that was still open and curious.

 

He liked the way the inside of the apartment looked too. It was neat. Not as organized as Levi would have it, but it was definitely missing the telltale signs of youth that should be in the home of a brat in his twenties. The brat knew how to use the natural lighting available to him for sure. It made the rooms look more inviting, larger, full without being cluttered. There were a series of hooks right next to the entrance with coats hats and scarves neatly hanging. Shoes were lined up against the wall just as immaculately. Levi also didn’t fail to notice that in the entryway alone, there were quite a few feminine articles.

 

Girlfriend for sure.

 

This was a bit new. Perhaps refreshing. A straight guy drawing gay couples and posting it. Or maybe the artist was really the girlfriend. Strange. Levi had never even noticed a second person running in and out of this apartment. Well, not like he ever really cared to pay attention to people.

 

His eyes drifted back to the boy who had seemingly calmed down and was clearing his throat. Despite recovering from the initial shock first, Levi had been too busy staring at his new surroundings and this kid in front of him to get any words out before the boy.

 

“I apologize for my language, you just really startled me.” The boy gave a nervous laugh and smoothed out the crinkles of his blue dress shirt that he had created only moments before. The boy seemed to realize he was averting his eyes from embarrassment and moved to rectify his mistake.

 

Yup. Levi definitely liked his eyes.

 

There was a moment of silence as Levi took in the boy in front of him one more time, seeing him a bit differently now that he had seen pieces of his home as well. It was invasive sure, but there was nothing to be done about it now. And a small part of him doubted that the boy even minded that much. After all, art was rather personal too and this boy didn’t seem to have any qualms displaying that for the whole world to see, but Levi also understood that everyone was different and perhaps Eren was some random kid that found no embarrassment through sharing his art with the world, but still held his home on a personal level and Levi had just awkwardly invaded it.

Well not all of it. Just what he could see from the entryway? It wasn’t like he had barged in to take a peek at the brat’s bedroom either. This should be okay right? It really was an accident.

 

The boy was still staring at him. Levi had no doubt that all of that insatiable curiosity he had seen in the boy’s before was now being directed at him. He could feel more than see the boy taking in everything about him from his black leather shoes to the cravat he always wore to work.

 

“You live down the hall right?”

 

Levi’s eyebrows rose a bit. It wasn’t too surprising that the kid had recognized him, not everyone was as uncaring about the other people living here than he was. It was probably a good thing, at least now he might seem like a little bit less of a creep.

 

The boy kept talking after Levi gave a curt nod and nothing more.

 

“Did you need something or…?” The boy trailed off truly unsure of what could lead someone to stand, waiting in front of his door ready to scare the living shit out of him.

 

Should he pretend like he needed something?

 

Levi shut the idea down almost immediately. There was nothing he could possibly need and honestly he was really sure he cared enough about this whole thing to invent some weird-ass lie about whatever the fuck.

 

“No. I just got a little distracted.” He gestured to the opened door with a flippant wave of his hand.

 

The boy’s whole face seemed to instantly brighten. His colorful eyes became even more stunning and Levi found himself unable to regret anything that had happened in the past half hour, despite how awkward it was. Levi felt incredibly relieved that the tense air had cleared considerably at his comment, but now the boy was excited. And speaking really fast. And _Holy shit! Calm the fuck down!_

 

“Wait.” Levi’s voice instantly silenced the random boy, “Did you draw this?” He pointed towards the couple and watched the boy’s eyes shift away from his to follow his gesture.

 

A couple of things happened.

 

First the kid seemed happy, whether it was about his art being noticed, or Levi pointing out one in particular to ask about, but then his entire face seemed to morph when he saw _which one_ Levi had pointed to. The boy seemed to deflate a little. But then his face changed again. It became sterner, impassive and he turned his head back to Levi with his chin high and his eye glowing once again, but now they were alight with something completely different from the earlier curiosity and confidence. He almost reminded Levi of the girl wearing sunglasses. The thought made a small smile tug at his lips, but he kept his face neutral.

 

“I did. Any problem with that?” It wasn’t just his eyes; there was a challenge in his voice too.

 

“No. None at all.”

 

The smile Levi had been holding back slipped through. He couldn’t help it. It was quite funny and rather pleasant to see how attached to his work this boy was and how ready he was to defend it.

 

“Oh.” The boy was a bit stunned, but now the curiosity was back and he was studying Levi anew. “Um, sorry I glared at you. I just thought that you…uhh… never mind.”

 

The smile disappeared as Levi rolled his eyes, “Trust me kid. I don’t have any problems with gay people and I don’t give a shit what you post on your door. You can do what you want.”

 

He could probably just leave it at that. Just bluntly tell the brat to do whatever the fuck he wanted and walk away. Because Lord knew he wanted to walk away. The kid was grinning at him and Levi wasn’t sure why his feet weren’t moving because he didn’t want to keep looking at this boy’s eyes and he couldn’t figure out where he should be looking instead. Probably not at the green button up that was in fact _not_ buttoned all the way up and was exposing quit a bit of collarbone, especially as the boy’s grin turned into more of a smirk and he casually leaned against the doorway, hands shoved into his pockets.

 

“So then what about it? If you don’t care about gay people or what I’m posting on my door why’d you ask if I drew it?”

 

Levi felt his eyes narrow. He wasn’t sure what the kid was playing at and frankly he didn’t know what to think of him period. The kid was a mess. All startled and then curious, but confident, proud, defensive, and then he went and got all embarrassed and apologetic and what the fuck was up with his cocky attitude now? It was too fucking confusing. This is why Levi hated dealing with people. Why couldn’t they just stick with one thing and stop changing their emotions every two fucking seconds.

 

“I was just curious.” His answer was clipped and as blunt as everything else he had said, but the kid was still smiling at him.

 

“Ok.” The brat seemed unconvinced.

 

“What?”

 

“Nothing. Did you like any of the other ones?”

 

Levi nodded and absently looked back at the door, feet sliding sideways to face it, thinking about the girl and the dog and the lighthouse. He liked one of the new additions for today too. Levi heard the kid give a small chuckle and then he stood up straight and moved closer to Levi, crossing his arms and looking at the door in front of them.

 

“Did you read any of them?”

 

“Yeah I did. I actually didn’t realize that they had…um… writing on them till just before. When you opened the door.”

 

It was the brat’s turn to nod. “That makes sense.”

 

“I thought that they were just pictures, but then I noticed these ones,” He gestured to the small group of picture-less clippings, “and I got a little confused as to why you would put it on your door.”

 

“I thought you didn’t care?”

 

“I don’t.”

 

The brat started laughing again. And there was no way in hell that Levi would admit that he kind of liked the sound of it.

 

“Yeah well, I had some of my friends come hang out here the other day and they were kind of interested by the door as well and they’ve heard me going on and on about national poetry month for a few weeks now, but they thought that these were kind of cool so I let them try it. They’re not the most artistic bunch, but I still posted the ones they did.” His face suddenly twisted into a scowl, “Except for Jean’s. That dickhead. He and Connie are so immature, their entire poem was just- _Fuck_!”

 

The kid whipped out his cell phone and began typing on it furiously. He reached over besides the door and yanked a coat off one of the hooks swinging it around his body and pulling it on muttering _shit shit shit_ the entire time. Levi wasn’t sure if his eyebrows could rise any higher.

 

The boys eyes snapped back up to meet his somewhat amused expression as he continued fumbling with various things. “I’m so sorry, I got all excited and I completely forgot that I made plans to meet up with Jean. Fuck, I completely forgot that I was even about to _leave_ period.”

 

Levi moved out of the way as the kid pulled the door closed and commenced his struggle of fitting his keys into the lock.

 

“I’m really sorry and I wish that we had more time.” He shoved his keys away and turned towards Levi again, face flushed. “I really like talking to you. You should come by again.” He smiled broadly and then added, “Just don’t startle me so much next time and I’ll make you a cup of tea or coffee or something. Anything you like.”

 

And then the kid was dashing down the hall, that is only to stop abruptly and whip back around of course.

 

“I never got your name!”

 

Levi was half tempted not to give him one, but he just shrugged and said, “Levi.”

 

The wide smile was back. “It was nice meeting you Levi. I’m Eren.”

**Author's Note:**

> [ tumblr](http://http://cloudflowerkami.tumblr.com/)


End file.
